"Israel's Media Watch" report on the coverage of populations afflicted by
the "terror war" in the Ha'aretz Weekly Supplement October 2000 - December
2001

by Ran Farhi, Tomer Tidhar, Prof. Eli Pollak info@imw.org.il

The report is dedicated by an anonymous benefactor to the loving memory of
the late Baruch Lerner, killed in March, 2002 in the Cafe "Moment" terrorist
attack in Jerusalem and to the memory of his grandfather Baruch Lerner
killed while fighting for the French Resistance during World War II.

Summary
* The coverage of events, since September 2000, as presented in the Ha'aretz
Supplement is biased:
1. The supplement ignores the difficult circumstances in which the Jewish
settlers in Judea, Samaria and Gaza find themselves as compared to the
exhaustive and positive treatment of the Palestinian population (92% of the
articles on the topic deal with the Palestinian population, most of them
written by Gideon Levy).
2. During the 15 month period covered by this study, only 5 articles were
published on the terror and war victims on the Israeli side (inside the
"green line" and beyond it).
3. .There is considerable attention to the issue of refusal to serve in the
army (3 articles) and to the Left side of the political spectrum (6
articles) but no coverage of the Right wing (6 articles are dedicated to the
influence of the war on the Left wing. No article is dedicated to the Right
wing).

* The findings point out professional incompetence of the journalist Gideon
Levy, the editors of the Supplement and the Haaretz newspaper. Gideon
Levy's articles, taken separately, don't meet the following basic
professional requirements:
1. In many instances the right of response is denied from those accused in
perpetrating "acts of violence" against Palestinians.
2. In most of the articles a thorough attempt at verifying the facts is not
undertaken. Levi does not follow up the cases treated in his articles in
order to "verify" the facts also retroactively.
3. His articles are "single-track", employing horror pictures which are
often unrelated to the topic itself, confusing news and opinions. Jewish
settlers and IDF soldiers are presented in anonymity (which may be construed
as generalizing the acts of individuals to implicate all the Jewish
population), use of biased terms is abundant, the killing of Jewish settlers
is legitimized.
Preface

The State of Israel and Palestinian Authority are engaged in mutual
warfare since October 2000. In such a situation the Media plays significant
role in covering the events, presentation and commentary.

The purpose of the present study is to check on the professional quality of
the coverage of the violent events. The Haaretz Weekly Supplement, regarded
as a high quality supplement with deep insight, justly pursues the full
picture of the occurrences (including the Palestinian point of view).

We considered the articles published in the Supplement during the period of
September2000-October2001, which were directly connected to the effects of
the warfare on both sides. The most prolific writer of the supplement is
Gideon Levy, who on a weekly basis describes in his column "Twilight zone"
the unfavorable situation and continuous suffering of the West Bank's
Palestinian population.

By publicizing the story of the "other side" the Supplement serves an
important and crucial goal, the public's right to know the whole story.
However, do the articles in the Supplement in general and particularly those
by Gideon Levy meet basic journalistic requirements as formulated by the
Israeli Union of Journalists?

The journalistic Code of Ethics contains among others the following rules:
1. Freedom of journalism and professional responsibility: Newspapers and
Journalists should be faithful to the freedom of the press and to the
public's right to know by delivering to the general public a professional
news service which is precise, fair and presents responsible news and views.
2. Honesty and Integrity: A newspaper and a journalist should act with
integrity and honesty.
3. Faithfulness to the Truth: A journalist and a newspaper should not
publish, knowingly or unknowingly, false, imprecise, misleading or
fabricated information.
4. Verification of the facts:
i. Prior to any publication, the newspaper and the journalist should verify
the facts with the most reliable source available and with appropriate
precaution.
ii. The urgency of publication should not deprive/release from the duty of
verification, as above.
iii. The very fact that the information has been previously published
elsewhere, does not free the publisher from a thorough and independent
verification of the facts.
5. Objectivity
a. A Newspaper or journalist should differentiate between news and
views.
b. Views published in an Opinions format will be subject to the same
ethics rules that apply to news.
c. The publication of news should be fair and without bias.
d. Headlines should not be misleading.

6. Privacy and good reputation
A newspaper or a journalist should not publish any piece of information that
might encroach upon the privacy or might damage a person's good reputation
without that person's approval, except in the case of clear and immediate
public interest in publishing such information. In any case, it is
imperative to clarify the facts with the person prior to publication. The
affected persons response should be published appropriately.

We studied the articles in the Ha'aretz supplement in view of this code,
attempting to answer the following questions:
1. Is there any obvious bias?
2. Has the journalist verified his facts sufficiently?
3. Was the right of response respected? Is the response visible in the
headline?
4. Is there any follow-up story, which supplies new insight on previously
published information ?

In addition to these questions we checked the number of articles dedicated
to both populations (Israeli and Palestinian); the topics covered; biases in
the choice of topics; and more.

1: Gideon Levy1

Quantitative results.
4 articles dealt directly with the Jewish population of the West Bank while
47 articles dealt with the Arab population, 42 of them written by Gideon
Levy.

Two major issues appear repeatedly in Gideon Levy's weekly column "Twilight
zone":
1. Personal stories of Palestinians, who suffer from great economical
difficulties as a result of Israeli blockades and roadblocks, employed as
part of the Israeli warfare.
2. Palestinian accusations of the IDF and the settlers regarding their "war
crimes" such as preventing pregnant women from passing roadblocks, direct
shooting on hospitals, shooting on innocent citizens, driving out
Palestinians from their lands, shooting on children, unjust arrests.

Is there any attempt to verify the facts?

Representative examples
Example1
On Nov. 2, 2001 in an article entitled "Splinters of Life", which discusses
the entrance of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to Bethlehem, Gideon Levy
accuses the IDF: "IDF forces shot two or three bombshells which landed in
the courtyard of the hospital orphanage", "One shot or piece of shrapnel
entered the premature baby ward" A bullet entered the Hospital's church".
Levy provides full details of the damage done to the Palestinian side.

Professional failures
1. The response of the IDF brought in the main title is misleading.
The IDF spokesman in his response explicitly stated, "the IDF didn't shoot
on the hospital". The spokesman accompanied the denial with the assertion
that "Palestinians open fire from sacred places, widely populated places
and hospitals, thus endangering innocent citizens". "IDF, continued the
spokesman, deeply regrets the suffering of the innocent population". However
the headline says, "IDF spokesman expresses regrets", implying that the IDF
spokesman actually affirmed Levy's facts and expresses his regrets over
them.
2. No visual evidence
There is no picture demonstrating some of the facts, such as the holes in
the wall, or bombshells craters or shrapnel.
3. Irrelevant pictures
The picture showing a wounded person is irrelevant to the story.
The wounded man in the picture, photographed inside the intensive care unit
of Al-Hussein Hospital might be hospitalized there but he was wounded near
his home in the refugee camp in Gaza (while the article describes the
situation in Beit-Jala, near Bethlehem).

Manipulative pictures

An almost full-page picture highlights two blood infusion bags, with a focus
on the patient. The picture clearly attempts to shock the viewer.

The second picture is also irrelevant to the accusation - shooting on the
premature baby ward. Instead of showing bullet holes in the room, the
picture shows a premature baby treated by the nurse.

4. There is no finding that proves that even if fire was opened at the
hospital, its source was the IDF forces. No attempt is made to verify the
origin of bullets, whether they come from the IDF or other sources.
5. There is no visual evidence proving "that acts of vandalism and
destruction were by the IDF upon entrance to the city".
6. There is no attempt to find out fire was opened on IDF soldiers from the
hospital area, the question was not posed.
7. Since Gideon Levi claims that the IDF killed one person and wounded
another, where are they and where are the bullet holes?

Example 2
On Nov. 16, 2001, in the article entitled "His last journey" Levy accuses
IDF soldiers, that as a result of their denying passage to the Muqassad
hospital in Jerusalem a child was put in life danger. The mother of the
child claimed that her child was mortally ill. However, in the course of
the article we are told that after the mother and child were denied passage,
she returned home, since she felt that the condition of her child improved.
She stayed at home for about three hours until her son's condition worsened
again.

Professional failures:
1. The right to respond
A response to the accusations is not given in the headline, but only in the
article.
2. Levy did not ask the mother, as he obviously should have, why, if her
son's condition was that critical, did she return home and stay there for
three hours instead of rushing to the nearest available hospital in Ramalla,
as suggested to her by the soldiers at the roadblock, a hospital which would
not have necessitated crossing a roadblock. The lack of probing questions
damage the veracity of the mother's testimony.
3. The absence of any official complaint.
There is no report of an official complaint to the military police regarding
the actions of the soldiers at the roadblock.
4. No follow-up
After the initial publication, no follow up appeared, informing the readers
about developments in the child's condition. Levy let us know that the baby
was fighting for its life, surely the readers of Ha'aretz would be
interested to know whether the baby ultimately survived.
5. The precise arrival time at the Muqqasad hospital, as appearing in the
hospital files, is not mentioned.
6. The headline
* "His last journey" - the title suggests that the child has passed away,
when in the same time the article tells us that he is tied to the
respiratory machine and is struggling for his life.
* The title also lets us know that the couple already lost two babies -
implying falsely that these two children died under similar circumstances
when in reality, they died of natural causes, having nothing to do with the
war and the IDF.

Example 3
On Dec 1, 2001 in the article entitled "Women in black" Levy presents
various accusations.

Professional failures:
1. The right to respond
The right of response is given neither to the settlers nor to the police.
2. The headline
The right to respond is not granted in the main headline
3. Absence of proof.
Statement of a fact, with insufficient proof
Levy is writing about workers trying to make their way to work in Israel
claiming, "Sometimes the border police are awaiting to beat them a little
and then to release them". The claim is general without factual proof.
General accusation without any proof.
"And sometimes the settlers come from Alon Moreh or somewhere around, hit
the passengers or shoot on the olive pickers".
An Incident of firing is given by one side of the conflict. " As it happened
to the first victim, Farid Nassarah, who wanted to pick his olives, and
settlers killed him and wounded others. Two settlers, arrested and suspected
of his murder, Yaron Gabay and Gad Tenne, have been recently released,
thanks." There is no attempt to find out the details, to verify differing
versions of the same incident. Only the accusation that settlers killed the
man are given repeatedly, along with the reaction of the widow calling those
released settlers "murderers". We do point out that the Jewish suspects were
released by a judge who ordered their release. Obviously one should be
asking whether the suspects will be prosecuted? What is their status today,
are they still suspects? The article does not relate to such questions at
all.

Usage of translators is not mentioned
Levy himself does not speak Arabic, but this fact is in no way mentioned in
his articles. Therefore, we wonder who are his translators? The revelation
of this technical detail bears tremendous importance and would help us to
understand the motives, if any exist, of the translator.

Example 4
On March 16, 2001 a two page article was published entitled "Curfew in
Hebron as prescribed halachically" (There is a play on words, in Hebrew,
ëäìëúå can mean a well carried out curfew, but it also carries the halachic
connotation.

Professional failures
1. The right to respond
The right of response is not granted to the IDF nor to the settlers' leaders
2. Tendentious pictures

Picture1 - shows in the center of the page settlers going wild on Purim, the
photo does not present them aesthetically or positively, to say the least,

Picture2 - shows in a small picture a miserable Palestinian family sitting
on a sofa, with the fathers' crutch visible. The title " Purim in Hebron.
How could people celebrate in the desolate streets while the inhabitants
look at them from behind the walls of their prisons...."

3. Tendentiousness
The following is an example of a tendentious description attempting to
present a negative view of the settlers: "If anybody wants to know what
racism, evil, ugliness is - Purim celebration in Hebron is the right
opportunity for him...
There Israeli occupation is revealed in its most distilled form: soldiers,
policemen and settlers of a country, which imprisons tens of thousands in
their homes... only to please the madness of a negligible but superior
minority." " Most of the Palestinian inhabitants and presumably most
Israelis would have long ago given up on this wild settlement."
In its first part the article is clearly against Purim celebrations in the
city during a period of curfew for the Palestinians, without explaining the
reasons behind the curfew.

Levy also writes: " The road to Hebron is open only for Jews - Racism
de-facto". Again, he describes the days of curfew without providing the
reasons for the curfews.
Levy cites a man who call the settlers "Wild beasts", the same man who
recalls telling his daughter: "Don't cry. Settlers will hear you and
soldiers will come into the house", the allusion to Nazis is unavoidable.

Example 5

On October 20, Levy interviewed colonel Kamal Al-Sheikh, the Ramalla
police chief, a few days after the infamous lynch of Israeli reservists.

Professional failures:
1. The right of response
Apart from stating the fact that a high-ranked security official clears the
Palestinian policemen from responsibility, no official response is brought
from the IDF or its Intelligence unit.
2. Levy refrains from asking the following questions:
-How come none of Al-Shikh's policemen never informed him that they arrested
two Israeli soldiers, and he knew of the fact only upon arriving at the
site.
-What is exactly the reason for which the soldiers were arrested instead of
bringing them to the DCO?
- Colonel Kamal Al-Sheikh claimed that had the policemen shot at the mob,
which was partially armed, the result would have been mass slaughter, but
the question why they didn't at least try to remove the crowd by warning
shots in the air is not asked.
-Isn't it the responsibility of the police responsibility to prevent such
horrible incidents from happening?
3. No follow-up of new facts
Levy claims that the colonel's version, according to which Palestinian
policemen tried to rescue the Israelis, is verified by an anonymous senior
Israeli defense source. A few days later, following the investigation of
participants in the lynch, these "facts" turned out to be incorrect,
moreover it became clear that Palestinian policemen took an active part in
the lynch and even Colonel Kamal Al-Sheikh is not cleared of suspicion. The
fact that Gideon Levy never published a follow-up story or even some brief
comment about the new information is a clear example of his lack of
journalistic professionalism, which puts the search for truth as its prime
goal.
4. Granting a biased-supportive microphone
Levy insists on showing empathy towards Colonel Kamal Al-Sheikh: he
describes him as passionate, emotional, accompanying this with his
protagonist's empathic portrait. We are given a view of his ruined staff
headquarters but the burnt Israeli vehicle is kept out of the picture. Levy
grants him a stage for self-clarification: The presents himself as trying
to protect one of the soldiers with his own body, offering them his shirt,
but they refused. Levy does not ask "inconvenient" questions regarding the
act of lynching itself, or the role of instigation which led to the
lynching. These questions should have been asked directly after the
colonel's claim that the very acts of lynch are alien to his culture.
5. No illustrative picture
The article is not supported with illustrative pictures connected with the
lynching, although the lynch provides the background for the interview, and
although these hard pictures - such as a lynch participant presenting his
bloody hands to the crowd - were widely shown around the world. We have to
point out that in his articles dealing with the Palestinian suffering, Levy
does not hold back from presenting "difficult" pictures, sometimes even when
they have no direct relevance to the story covered in his article.

Does the journalist provide for the right of response? If yes, is the
response brought also in headline?

The right to respond is a basic principle in the journalistic Code of
Ethics. A response is mandatory whenever there are reasonable grounds to
assume that the good name or reputation of a person or organization may be
hurt directly or indirectly by the news to be publicized.

Most of Levy's articles contain specific criminal accusations against the
IDF and the settlers, in the course of the ongoing war. In two instances
there are accusations with regards to acts committed during the Intifada of
88 and the IDF actions in Kybia.

Out of 42 articles dedicated to the Palestinian population, 37 have direct
accusations against the Israeli side, which obviously mandate the right of
response. 5 articles deal with the economic hardship of people due to
curfews and the war in general, without a specific accusation against the
IDF or other Israelis, these articles do not necessitate the right of
response..

In 11 instances the Israeli side was not given the right of response.
In 9 articles an accusation was presented in the headline, without an
appropriate response.
9 instances remain unclear allowing for further clarification.

Gideon Levy automatically accepts the Palestinian version of events which
accuses the IDF for perpetrating directed shooting at civilians, holding up
urgent humanitarian cases at roadblocks, leading to death or physical
damage.

It is to be noted that the "Ha'aretz" Supplement has cast doubts on the
reliability of the IDF spokesman, and dedicated a comprehensive article to
this topic named "the IDF spokesman, hard to believe". This latter article
was relevant/pertinent, and legitimate, and enabled appropriate response
from the IDF spokesman.

Are the reports biased?

Levy's articles are one-sided
All Levy's article are written from the Palestinian point of view. There is
a total identification with the Palestinian struggle and suffering. Levy
usually avoids describing the general circumstances, which led to situation
in which the Palestinian population finds itself. Levy does not present
tough questions to the Palestinians he interviews, for example, their
opinion about the Palestinian leadership and its responsibility for their
predicament.

For example, in the article on the Purim curfew in Hebron, 25.5.01, a one
dimensional description of the suffering is presented: "..Burnt
Palestinian stores, a destroyed locksmith's workshop, closed businesses
opposite the `Abraham avinu` site. "
Similarly one finds the description of the soldier- conqueror: An Israeli
soldier is smoking a cigarette, leaning on his jeep, three young
Palestinians are standing submissively behind him". He describes the
indifference, cruelty, and he actually dehumanizes the character of the
soldier, "...now he smokes. no hurry, they can stand and wait, they are
Palestinians." The Palestinian's difficulty in selling his merchandise is
derived " From the fear of the army and the settlers, which fall on the
buyers in the market, which is adjacent to the `Abraham avinu` site.

Levy uses the motive of Palestinian's rage and distress, hinting at his
understanding
for their violence. At first, Levy presents the bubbling Palestinian rage
and despair, which then serves to justify Palestinian violence. A thinly
disguised anticipation for a violent response from them is presented.

For example, in the article of Sept. 3, 2001, entitled "Thus grows the next
suicide bomber" Levy mixes in one sentence both the cause and the result
leading to the Palestinian suicide attackers in Israel: "On Sunday this
week, while the terrorist detonated his bomb in Netanya, , several filthy
kids were playing in the Deheishe refugee camp - their noses were dripping,
their faces covered with purulent bruises". It is hard not to connect
between both parts of the sentence.

In the course of the article, after a description of the poverty and misery,
Levy implicitly identifies with the thoughts of the Deheishe children: "when
they will grow up they, also, want to be a fedayiin, as they say". "So what
will they want? What will they be?" - the only thing left is "only to
confront the IDF, in order to help his family."

In the article of August 31, 2001 about the Al-Tarm village: " Israel
doesn't give up, apparently, on any hold: any village, but any village, even
the tiny Al-Tarm, is pushed to the arms of despair, from which the path to
violence is short." Further on we find a text which condones the violence:
"silence, silence, but how much longer with the men in this village accept
that their fate is doomed to be besieged and unemployed..."
"In Silat-a-Dahar the children are throwing stones at the settlers and
soldiers cars that go through their village what else is there to do in the
pastoral Al-Tarm village?

The anonymous settlers and IDF soldiers:
a. The settlers are presented as evil. In the majority of the cases their
names are not mentioned. For example: "...Also the cars of the settlers,
which pass quickly by the Palestinian families which are compelled to walk
their way from the local villages for holiday visits in Ramalla leave a
bitter taste of apartheid. The shielded, armored settlers cars, with their
many antennas and stickers, pass by without even looking at the silent
families walking on the sides of the road" (21.12.01).
b. Only in one article ("A good Arab is a wounded one", 2.3.01), when one of
the settlers said that he is not opposed to evacuation from the settlement
did he receive a name and empathy.
c. In the most of the articles, the IDF Soldiers have neither faces
(generally, and human faces specifically) nor names.

Usage of tendentious expressions
Levy is accustomed to using tendentious terminology, such as `the occupation
army", which present the IDF as the symbol of evil. Levy also uses recruited
phrases, and sometimes becomes poetic. This especially when providing a
dramatic description of the IDF as a fearsome army, which uses destructive
tanks against merely armed Palestinians. For example, in the article of
26.10.01, entitled "A report from occupied Beit-Jalla" he writes:
"...another tank or armored personnel carrier of the IDF made its way
towards Beit-Jalla. The asphalt is already scarred from previous tanks, who
bruised it during their ride, sowing more and more panic and destruction."
"Remnants of the previous destructive marches of the tanks, all of them
fruits of the last Israeli incursion to Beit-Jalla and Bethlehem, are strewn
along the roadside: cars,... etc".

When describing the entrance to Bethlehem in the article entitled "life's
splinters" (2.11.2001) he writes: "The signs of destructions are also in the
main Road. All the traffic lights of Bethlehem, acts of the devil, were
plucked from their places, and were trampled under the tank's chains. Just
plain soldiers of the armored forces. The breadth of the main street was not
sufficient for our tank drivers, they zigzagged right and left in their iron
machines, without missing a single traffic light. A war against terror. Now
these traffic lights are lying on the road.. smashed and ruined, as
soundlessl evidence for what has happened... even the pharmacy is smashed,
empty of medications. The skeletons of the cars tell us that a small war
took place, tanks against rifles".

Another example, in the article "Our forces returned safely" (30.11.2001) on
the IDF entrance to Tul-Karm: "...the IDF conquered the campus (the `Kaduri`
school in Tul-Karm r.f) who heard about this in Israel? Who cares? On the
site there are two other educational institutions...all of them have been
conquered, and have been hurt by the destruction inflicted by Israel sewed,
an educational district trampled by tanks. A combination of `exposing`- the
new term in the occupation dictionary of the IDF for the destruction of all
the buildings and trees in the front row, oppostie the IDF base... with a
meaningless vandalism."

In the article of 18.5.01 "She was three months and a half in her death",
the description of IDF behavior is brought without any background:
"A tour in the streets of Gaza exposes more and more ruins. Sites of
bombardment and ruins of houses that were victims of Israeli bulldozers
entering the A territories: trampling, uprooting and leaving".

The use of tendentious nicknames
The settlers of the Jordan valley receive from Gideon Levy the nickname
colonists, thus categorizing them as belonging to the evil side (19.10.01, "
...they went through the fields").

Demonization of the IDF
"Even earlier the children were afraid of the jeep, now says the child
Fahad ,15 years old...that he is happy to be back in school, but scared of
the jeep, of the soldiers. He's been afraid of being yelled at, afraid of
being called "maniac", afraid of being hit on his way to school, which goes
beside the jeep, the horror of the village."

Views instead of news
In some cases Levy equips himself in advance with a one sided thesis. In
these cases, several paragraphs appear in the beginning as a personal
opinion column, one sided and biased. For example, when dealing with
roadblocks, he uses a fixed pattern, first presenting the suffering, and
then an explicit or implicit understanding or questioning how long can the
Palestinians continue to endure quietly?

The article of 5.1.01 entitled, "Abu-Gihad on the wedding bed", we find a
description of the harm caused by blockades, granted legitimacy and
understanding to further violence: "Three months of closures, blockades,
curfews, and siege which the far distant from peace", and then "tens of
roads, that spill into the main road, are blocked brutally with piles of
sand. Little towns, cities are under the siege of impassable blockades and
soldiers supervising them with their rifles, making sure that no one will
try to break through the siege " and then Levy adds: "it is hard to believe
how the spirit of those men hasn't been broken, or has it? In one of those
campfires of despair with the wind, blowing coldly, another splinter has
been added to the fire, and the next terrorist acts is being cooked. "

On Feb. 9, 2001 in the article "In the mud" he opens with a description of
all those who are forced to trudge their legs in the mud, bypassing roads,
and then he asks: "why does this old lady have to come back by foot after
visiting the doctor in Nablus, crossing the muddy valley barefooted, with
short breath and stumbling legs? Why do the toiling day laborers, which
tilled the green fields of the settlements here, need to pass every day this
road of agony with their truck that sinks all the time in the mud?" Similar
questions follow. Finally we find a questions which justifies the violence
to come: "what do they think all those people with this destiny? What are
their feelings? Will these simple tillers of the land forever accept the
follies of occupation with submission? Till when? Why do they deserve this
at all? What was their sin?... How should they to arrive at the pharmacy?",
etc., etc..

An article entitled "The closure of Beit-Furik" (14.9.01): "they don't
succeed in reaching their land tracts because of the settlers, or they
aren't able to reach the markets because of the evil soldiers".

With regard to Hebron, in the article "Curfew in Hebron" (16.3.01): "...If
anybody wants to know what is... racism, what is evil, what is injustice -
the Purim holiday in Hebron is the right time for him... the Israeli
occupation is exposed in its most distilled form: soldiers, policemen and
settlers of a state which imprisons tens of thousands in their homes...only
to please the madness of the insignificant, but superior minority ". "The
majority of the Palestinian population and even most Israelis would have a
long time ago given up on this wild settlement ..." or "the road which goes
up to Hebron - for Jews only - racist segregation in action".

In an article from 25.5.01 whose headline was "Just as in south-Africa, a
visit to Hebron with Raymond Lowe, the ex-editor of the `Rand Daily Mail",
Levy opens with the following words: "In the occupied territories there is
no better place than Hebron which aptly demonstrates the severe essence of
the Israeli occupation and of the local version of apartheid. An
insignificant minority of 400 people, which reigns cruelly over a gigantic
majority of 140 thousand residents, 30 thousand of them under the direct
military control of Israel. Tens of thousands of Palestinians are in curfew
because of the holiday.. or any other caprice of the Jewish minority".
Later in the article the following quotation appears: "the security forces
which confront the violent rule of the minority" as well as a citation
dealing with roads which are for Jews only.

Using motifs from the Holocaust and other massacres of Jews
In his article "The slaughtered city" which dealt with witnesses from the
IDF operation in the city of Kybie, an action that was named, `a massacre`,
there is a wide use of expressions with connotations from the Holocaust. For
example: "Mahmud Abdalla Maslut, is a saved charcoal, maybe the most tragic
survivor from the massacre that occurred during that horrible night".
Borrowing from Bialik, the famous Zionist author who described in a poem the
Kishinev pogrom, Levy writes
"The sun was shining, the cypress tree was in bloom and the slaughterer
slaughtered". Levy continues: "one way or another, the sun was rising on
Kibye, and the slaughterer became an elected prime minister, and Kibye
became slightly bewildered..."
Is Levy accusing the Prime Minister of being a slaughterer? Who exactly did
the PM Slaughter?

In relation to a fence, which commemorates those who were killed, Levy adds:
"...this is the number on the board, summing up those who were killed in
the massacre. A town, where there isn't almost any monument or a pillar as
the saying of the poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko about another horrible place goes
". This is a direct analogy to the massacre of Jews in Babi-Yar where
Hundreds thousands of Jews were murdered. "This is the common grave of
Kibye" writes Levy. Ahmed Jabber, one of the witnesses, describes a case
meant to bring an analogy to the Nazi war crimes. He tells us: "Suddenly a
little baby started to cry. Her mother shut her mouth, until the baby
choked and died".

The legitimacy of killing settlers
Many Palestinians interviewers in his articles justify the murder of the
settlers. Levy, from his side, except for one partial exception, doesn't
react, and doesn't insist on the legitimate right of the settlers, as human
beings, to live. For example, when Levy was told: "we shoot settlers and
soldiers, not civilians. This is a war against occupation" Levy did not
respond. Only once he did he ask a members of the Tamayzi family who was
wounded severely by shooting ascribed to Jews, whether the incident is
identical to the murder of settlers by Arabs. The answer of his proponent
justified murdering settlers and was not followed by any additional response
from Levy.

Pictures of atrocities
Some of Levy's articles show difficult pictures of badly wounded
Palestinians, children and adults. The pictures are taken by his permanent
photographer, Mickey Krechman. It is clear that these pictures are meant to
shock the observer and to give the impression that they are a result of
actions undertaken by the settlers and the IDF.

Has any follow-up article, about his investigations been published?

Only once. In the story about the Palestinian inhabitants of the caves south
of Hebron, there is a follow up article, where Gideon Levy celebrates with
them their victory - their return to the `caves`, from where they, at the
beginning of the story, were taken out by the IDF, and to which they return
by decree of the Israeli supreme court. In contrast, in those cases where
there were severe accusations against the IDF soldiers, leading as claimed,
to the death of an embryo, sick children and adults - there wasn't any
follow up article verifying the facts, ascertaining whether anyone was
brought to trial, whether in fact the army investigation corroborated the
criminal accusations.

Chapter 2: Articles by other reporters

Quantitative analysis

1. Four articles dealt directly with the settlers in Judea, Samaria and
Gaza, while 47 articles dealt with the Palestinian population.

2. Four articles dealt with the Jewish population and an identical number
with the Arab population of the State of Israel.

3. Fourteen articles dealt with the Israeli security forces in contrast to 7
articles, which dealt with the Palestinian Armed Forces.

4. Six articles dealt with the influence of the war on the Israeli Left. Not
even a single article dealt with the Israeli Right. In addition to six
articles dedicated to the Left there were three other articles that covered
the phenomenon of disobedience for Israeli army service.

Content analysis

Articles that dealt with the Palestinian population

The four articles about the Palestinian population were written by Aviva
Lorry, Hila Altshuler, Vered Levy-Bazilay and Jallal Banna with Uria Shavit.
Except for one article baised towards the Palestinian side, most of the
articles were balanced and relevant, the journalistic approach was generally
professional. A sincere attempt was made to verify the facts and the truth.

The article of Hilla Altshuller dealt with the effect the events had on the
residents of Beit-Jalla (Moslems/Christians), and their relationships with
Jews. It is the most neutral and balanced article, bringing opinions from
both sides thus presenting a broad and balanced picture.

Vered Levy Bazilay uncovered the suffering of Palestinian homosexuals,
persecuted in their society. The article was based on extensive research.
The predicament of a segment of the population which finds itself trapped
between the hammer (the Palestinian society) and the anvil (Israeli
police)" was presented. Their status as non-legal lingerers in Israel is
also presented. The article is fair and relevant.

The article of Jallal Bana and Uria Shavit : "Goodbye Palestine", which
dealt with the phenomenon of Palestinians who wants to emigrate to western
countries sets an example of journalism which tries to stick to the facts,
be informative and relevant. An article which examines motivation and
reasons without expressing any personal feeling of happiness or sadness.
Relevant Palestinians were interviewed. The coverage in the article was
neutral and unbiased.

The article of Aviva Lorry is the exception. Her article, which dealt with
the economic distress of the Palestinian population of Hebron, was biased.
For example, there was no effort to question the Palestinian interviewed
about his personal involvement in terror against Israel, for which he is
wanted by the Israeli Security forces. The article presents the Palestinian
population as being the victim of the settlers in Hebron. Although the right
of response is given to a militant settler named Anat Cohen, she did not use
it. There was no attempt to turn to an official spokesman of the Hebron
settlers. The fact that the Jewish settlers of Hebron have also suffered is
completely ignored, even though the hero of the article claims having good
relations with the settlers.

Articles that dealt with Jewish settlers

Out of seven articles that dealt with the lives of the settlers in JSG
(Judea, Samaria and Gaza) and in the lower Jordan valley, four of them dealt
directly with the consequences and implications of the war on their lives.
Of these four, three were neutral and pertinent, while the article of Nery
Livne was biased.

The headline of Nery Livne`s article of 24.11.00 "homesick. On the residents
of non-religious settlements. A collective portrait of Jews that understand
only the use of force." This article, which dealt with the inhabitants, that
have left the Hermesh settlement, was biased against the very settlement
enterprise. There wasn't any real attempt to get a response from the JSG
council, while open understanding was expressed towards the acts of
violence against the settlers. The reporter's comments in the opening of the
article provide a good example: "The settlers, those who arouse the
Palestinian rage, which led to the latest security crisis..." and her
questions to the chairman of Hermesh help to understand her tendentiousness:
"hasn't it bothered you that this is a settlement?
A: no, why?
Q: because the things that happened could have been anticipated
A: why, we settled on the lands of the state, and we didn't take any land
from any Arab.
Q: and how did these lands become lands of the state? These are occupied
lands. Did you believe that the Palestinians would give them up quietly?

Except for this one sided article, the other articles were neutral and
pertinent. Uriya Shavit's article was relevant and unbiased. In two articles
of Avihai Becker empathy was expressed towards his studies, but it was not
overdone. His articles (also dedicated to military issues )
characteristically present in-depth research, many interviewees, who provide
a variety of views and angles to his topics. For example in his article
dedicated to the settlers of the southern Jordan valley (5.10.01) entitled
"Elad left the Jordan" he presented a mosaic, which is typical to this area,
and the main problems that this population has to deal with: economical and
security difficulties. He presented settlement whose general situation
turned out to be better than expected, those who are being dismantled and
even the widow of Zohar Shurgi that left the valley with her children to
Ashdod. But he also referred to the idealistic national-religious settlers
in the valley. In other words, he presented a broad picture.

Becker's article on Hagar Zar (27.7.01) with the headline "Zar's widow" was
characterized, by providing his interviewees ample opportunity to express
themselves, while asking pertinent (but not too difficult) questions.
Instead of the difficult questions he chose to introduce Mrs. Zar in his
article as someone who moved from the left wing to the camp identified with
national religious Zionists.

Uria Shavit's article "songs no more" (15.12.00) dealt with the topic of
cancellation of artistic performances in the settlements and the scarcity of
artists willing to appear there. His writing is an example of neutrality. He
presents the phenomenon and interviews the wide spectrum of relevant
opinions: The artists who oppose appearing in the settlements for
ideological reasons (Dan Almagor), those who oppose the encouragement of
artists to perform there (Mussi Raz) and those who do encourage them to
appear (Shturm). He provides ample space to the leaders of the settlements,
and to a singer who comes to perform in Karnei-Shomron.

Three other articles dealing with the relationships between the settlers and
the judiciary were matter of fact. The primary assumption underlying two of
the articles was the violent character of the settlers (specifically in
Hebron) and their problematic relationship with IDF soldiers as in the
article of 6.4.01 by Avihai Becker, or on the inherent danger of formation
of a new Jewish underground in the article by Aviva Lorry and Uria Shavit
(8.6.2001).

There were hints about the violent character of the settlers, as expressed
in the headlines, such as:"The Jew retaliates - A New Jewish Underground?"
or "Don't call us Nazis and don't bring your coffee to our outpost", or
"Jews only understand force" (Neri Livne, 24.11.2000). the articles
generally were to the point, provided a full right of response: to the
representative of the settlers in the article about the police of Judea and
Samaria by Baruch Kara (4.1.02), and also in the article that dealt with the
formation of a new Jewish underground resistance. Soldiers were interviewed,
including those who had empathy for the settlers of Hebron. Thus, the
general picture obtained by someone who fully read the article was one of
balanced and fair reporting.

The Jewish population vs. the Israeli Arab population

Four articles were dedicated to both sides and gave a balanced picture on
the influence of the war on both sectors. These articles were generally
pertinent. One of the articles dealt with the Arab-Jewish co-existence in
the AH"I Nazareth soccer team. The article was to the point.

The Israeli security forces as compared to the Palestinian armed forces

Fourteen articles dealt with the IDF, which were to the point, objective but
somewhat sympathetic towards the IDF officers. However, the overall
treatment of the IDF differs significantly from the coverage of the
Palestinian armed forces. Topics with which the IDF is not very comfortable
were the main concern of the author: The plight of reserve soldiers; the
forum of officers, the events leading to the retreat from Joseph's tomb near
Nablus (2 articles), the recovery of the Marganit regiment.

A central topic was conscience and army service. Reserve major Rami Kaplan
who was not subjected to difficult questioning by the reporter Avihai
Becker, received a free platform to present his arguments that the IDF is
acting wrongly in its operations (destroying houses etc). This same officer
would later turn out to be one of the conscientious objectors to military
service in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

Another article was about conscience in the cockpit, the moral questions
that pilots must deal with when they have to bomb Palestinian cities. The
article is relevant, extensive, and presents full coverage of the problems.
It also provides in depth profiles of a few army officers which were
objective and balanced, exposing the strengths and weaknesses of these
officers.

Seven articles dealt with the Palestinian armed forces, 6 of these presented
sympathetic interviews with Palestinian police and members of the Tanzim
(interviewed by Gidon Levy). These articles could be considered as
propaganda profiles, only one article was informative and neutral.

The influence of the war on political groups in Israel

Six articles dealt with the ideological crisis in the Left wing, caused by
the war. Four articles were sympathetic to the ideology of the left, only
two were matter of fact. In addition, two interviews were published, one
with the author Eyal Meged, who underwent a deep change in his ideology, the
other with retired Supreme Court justice, Moshe Landoy, who is identified
with the Israeli right and opposed the Camp-David discussions.

Three articles were dedicated to the phenomenon of conscientious objection
to serving in the army in the JSG areas. These articles were characterized
by their positive attitude to the objectors, even though their relative
weight in the Israeli population is negligible.

Conclusions

* The study exposes a lack of professional judgment and professional
journalistic practices on behalf of the editors of the Ha'aretz supplement
and the Ha'aretz newspaper. The supplement provides a biased and tendentious
coverage of events since September 2000. It ignores the hardships of the
settlers as compared to the full coverage and warm attitude towards the
Palestinian population.
92% of the articles covering the topics of this research, deal with the
Palestinian population.

* Our study underscores the unprofessional, unbalanced and tendentious work
of the journalist Gideon Levy. Levy relies on the version of one side only
(half of his articles do not even request a response from the "other" side)
.He does not even attempt to provide a superficial neutrality.

* During the 15 month period covered by this study, only 5 articles were
published on the terror and war victims on the Israeli side (inside the
"green line" and beyond it).

* The "Haaretz" Supplement is characterized by the wide use of atrocious
pictures, mainly of wounded Palestinians (in sharp contrast to the image of
the Ha'aretz newspaper as a solid and decent paper. )

* The articles dealing with the influence of events on Arabs and Jews in
Israel are quantitatively balanced (4 articles each side).

* There is great deal of exposure to the subject of conscientious objection
to service in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (3 articles) and to the Israeli left
(6 articles). The Israeli right is completely ignored.

* Populations who suffered from terrorist acts: Israeli cities and their
populations which suffered from terror such as Hadera, Afula, Netania, were
completely ignored.

* The Israeli immigrants population, which was badly hurt through terrorist
acts in the Netanya mall, the Dolfinarium in Tel Aviv was not covered. One
article of Gideon Levy reviewed funerals of the Dolfinarium victims,
focusing mainly on the non-Jewish victims.

1 Due to the considerable amount of articles covered, we provide
representative highlights of the research, according to the following
division: 1.Gideon Levy 2. Other journalists.